Understanding how tree size impacts leaf- and crown-level
gas exchange is essential to predicting forest yields and carbon
and water budgets. The stable carbon isotope ratio of organic
matter has been used to examine the relationship of gas exchange
to tree size for a host of species because it carries a temporally
integrated signature of foliar photosynthesis and stomatal conductance.
The carbon isotope composition of leaves reflects discrimination
against 13C relative to 12C during photosynthesis and is the
net result of the balance of change in CO2 supply and demand
at the sites of photosynthesis within the leaf mesophyll.

Keywords: tree height, carbon isotope ratio

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